Utley: “It’s part of the game. No big deal. The important thing is, we won.”

Manuel: “The catcher set right in behind him. Yeah, he threw at him. No doubt about it.”

The unspoken rule in baseball â€” no sport has as many unspoken rules â€” is if a pitcher hits a batter, it’s brushed aside. If he hits a second, retaliation is necessary. That Kendrick knocked Zimmerman out means the Nats had the liberty to hit a comparable player. Utley is the comparable one to Zim (both are foundation players), thus, he got the bruise.

And Charlie said what he said; Jimmy Rollins said “there’s a little more to that.” Hopefully these words don’t come back to bite the Phils the next time they play the Nats. Face it, it’s good the Phils didn’t lash out â€” they don’t need to fight the meaningless Nationals while getting set for a big stretch run. Take the high road. Hopefully the Nats don’t act like children next time out, either.